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Sunday, May 3, 2009

Japanese Holiday: Boy's Day

This Tuesday, May 5th will be Boy's Day (Tango no Sekku). I got all the decorations out for this special day to display in our house. We will be hanging the koi fish (pictured above) outside our house. The carp is a popular symbol of the celebration which represents courage, strength, and perseverance. I will also have on display a small Japanese sword, bow and arrows. They were my husband's as a child and have been passed down to my son. We also celebrate the day by getting my son small gifts.

We purchased this koi fish in Japan town. It's a little unusual in that it's handmade. I think that's why I liked it so much. Most of the koi fishes I see here in the states are commercially made. Often they are made out of nylon and the image is printed on the fish.

Japanese sword, bow & arrows

Close up of ornamentation on the bow & arrows

8 comments:

Drea said...

:) I love the carp. It is a lot nicer then the generic nylon ones.

What I'd really love is a doll set for girl's day.

alexander said...

Oh have a great day!

Alexander
Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

Ayie said...

Such a wonderful occasion, very menaingful to the boys. I love the samurai and bow and arrow. Very authentic!

Haven't visited Japan town and I bet i'll enjoy it there.

APO (Bem-Trapilho) said...

very nice!
loved your blog! :)

SK said...

Too bad there's no boys' day in Australia.
Would be nice to have that as part of the culture.

Christy said...

I've seen this holiday being featured on NHK. What a beautiful celebration. Those fish lanterns are just so pretty!

Liz said...

Happy boy's day to your little guy!

dianeinjapan said...

Love the handmade koi--a great find!

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